


Sauntering Vaguely Upwards

by amberlo133



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Found Family, M/M, Someone else’s original characters, Unresolved Sexual Tension, himbos in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:08:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28675722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amberlo133/pseuds/amberlo133
Summary: Life goes on after Din is rescued by a group defecting death troopers.This is a direct continuation of Halfway Between the Black and the Grey by UFOtofu. Which is a reimagining of Lady Irina’s Ice and Luck. Because fanfiction of fanfiction!
Relationships: Corin the Stormtrooper (Rescue and Regret)/Din Djarin
Comments: 36
Kudos: 82





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [halfway between the black and grey](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22289206) by [UFOtofu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UFOtofu/pseuds/UFOtofu). 



> Go read the stories mentioned in the summary. They’re amazing and otherwise you’ll be confused. If you’re already on the Corin bandwagon, this is for you. Mostly me, but you too.
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/22289206/chapters/53231704
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560925

“So!” Corin says, brightly. “Where are we going?”

For some reason, the Mandalorian just sighs.

The answer is to the next job. As is the way. Only this time it is in the middle of one of the most surreal days of Din’s life. 

He feels like he has missed out on a lot of the steps that led to this. He knows he took a few blows to the head from all those Imps but surely he would remember how having a cheerful looking death trooper making himself at home on the Razor Crest became a logical end to the day.

And he is extremely cheerful. And pretty. Din is very familiar with the combination of fascination and forgetfulness that afflicts people when they are used to seeing someone in full armour. It is easy to forget there is a person under there. But should death troopers be that pretty? Of course, he is also physically intimidating, taller than Din and heavily muscled but without the armour the effect is balanced by piercing blue eyes and a happy go lucky attitude to the world.

Part of Din resents that attitude, only someone who had never been on the receiving end of the Empire can look like that. But he did risk his life to save Din and the kid. Why? Boredom? Were they running out of Moffs to guard and cities to destroy now that the Empire was in pieces?

“Are you done looking through my stuff? It’s kind of messy spread out like this?”

“Yes.”

“Cool. Oh, do you have a weapons locker or something? The little one already tried to get his hands on my grenades. They don’t exactly teach us childcare but even I know that’s a bad idea.” 

“In the cargo bay.”

“Great. I’ll get this stowed away.” The trooper rises fluidly and gathers up his weapons with the air of someone who could field strip each and every piece blindfolded in a howling gale. Din is left staring at his back blankly, with a small pile of clothes, armour and other odds and ends in front of him. It seems Death Troopers travel light.

What cannot be easily stowed away is the Death Trooper himself. Although, Din does toy with the idea of freezing him in carbonite. The kid would probably disapprove of that. Or pushing him out the airlock. 

“Hey little one. I’m going to take a guess and say you’re not allowed in here. Although, it is full of very beautiful things. Your dad has quite the collection.”

The trooper carries on burbling to the child and Din can here it chatting back. Why has it taken such a liking to the man? He must look like so many people who tried to hurt it.

“Let’s take you up to the cockpit before you get into anything you shouldn’t.” Din leaps up. He is not putting up with the trooper flying his ship. 

When he makes it up the ladder the trooper is still settling the kid into its seat. It’s going to be a while given kid is giggling and deliberately making it difficult. But the trooper remains amused and patient. What do they teach death troopers? 

Din falls into the pilot seat, still tired and aching from the firefight. Satisfied that the trooper is treating his kid okay he turns to the display and runs a quick diagnostic. 

“So you never said where we were going.” Din flinches infinitesimally. This was going to take some getting used to.

“Seth.”

“Seriously?” The trooper says breathlessly, sound way too excited. “Luck is in!”

“Why?” Din is instantly suspicious and already half planning to go somewhere else. 

“Seth is next to Hoth right? It’s an ice planet?”

“Yes.”

“I love the snow! I was beginning to think you only ever worked in the desert after the last few months.” Din’s brain stalls again. How long have they been following him?

“How do you know where I work?”

“We’ve been tracking you for ages. We just waited until you left a place before we broached atmo.”

“Why?”

“So we didn’t catch you.” The trooper is looking at him like it’s blindingly obvious. He is very good at answering questions without actually giving any helpful information. Well, he had said not to let them catch him, when they met before but Din assumed he meant generally to be careful, not that he had a squad of death troopers following him around like deadly puppies.

Eventually he puts the child to bed and orders the trooper to get some sleep as well. Without him under foot he might finally get a chance to think. And probably some sleep in his seat. It wouldn’t be the first time.

In what passes for the morning, when Din comes down out of the cockpit to search for the child he naturally finds him in exactly the opposite place he wants him to be.

In the bunk the trooper has woken up and is lying on his back with the child perched on his chest. He looks sleepy, mussed and his hair is mostly pointing sideways. But he is smiling at the child who is burbling excitedly and patting his collarbone.

“Yeah that’s right. I’ll never be anything like you but I can just about cause a ripple with the help of this.” The child pats his chest again chirps in concentration. The trooper jerks a little, coughing and sits up, still managing to hold the child steady. 

“Wow don’t get it too excited. It’s in a bit of a delicate place.”

He catches sight of Din and says “it’s a bit fond of my khyber crystal. I didn’t know they could vibrate like that.”

“Crystal.”

“Yeah I have one in my chest to help boost the force sensitivity.”

“You use the force?”

“Nah. Well sort of. I’m barely sensitive, probably the least on the team but it’s still helpful. And clearly a beacon to the tiny adorable force hurricanes of this world.” He smiles down at the child and bounces it.

Din sorts through that for a moment. It explains why the pair had a reaction to each other. And it is a relief to have a little more of the information he feels he must be missing. How had he managed to go through life meeting no jedis and having no dealings with the force and now he’s tripping over all of this stuff and every bit of it is more explosive than a clan of Hutts in a power vacuum.

“Okay. Out of the bunk, go and watch the sensors. Check for tails.” Despite getting some sleep in the cockpit, Din is just too tired to deal with this right now. He needs to sleep in an actual bunk. The trooper unfolds himself with easy grace and passes the child to Din.

“Affirmative. I guess it would be a bit cramped.”

Din is not touching that idea with a ten foot pole.

Some hours later, when Din arrives in the common area the trooper is staring in thought at this armour. The child is sitting on the other end of the table, trying to fit a pauldron into his mouth, despite the perfectly good ration bar that the trooper has pulled out of the stores. The child coos a greeting at him and Din moves towards him and gently removes the piece of armour and replaces it once again with the food. The trooper greets Din with a smile but is otherwise unexpectedly quiet and pensive.

“I can’t decide what to do about the armour. It’s pretty distinctive.” He picks up the helmet and stares into the visor. “I’m not going to be able to get my hands on kit this good anywhere else. I could paint it but that would disrupt the camouflage tech.” He flips it over in his hands and looks up. “You don’t take yours off?”

“Not the helmet.”

“Ever cover it up?” Din shakes his head slowly. He’s not a fan of talking about the Creed with outsiders but at least he knows why the trooper is asking.

“I guess it attracts it’s fair share of attention too.”

“This is the way.”

“Well I’ve abandoned the Empire’s way.” The way he says it is awkward, as if there is still a little false bravado in how easily he says the words. The trooper scrapes his thumbnail across the cheek plate of the helmet in his hands. “I guess I can do whatever I want with it.”

“Why did you leave? You must have done worse things than hand over a child to the Empire.”

“Oh yes, I’m sure we did.” His eyes narrow for a second as if he is trying to remember something but then his expression clears. “Because we could I suppose. Leave I mean, not do awful things.”

It’s another non answer and Din is sick of them. The trooper is sure he did worse things? It could have been death troopers that killed Din’s parents, if his little town had been considered more important.

“You’re sure you did? Clearly they don’t keep you awake at night.”

“Oh no! But that’s the reconditioning. The Empire knows that soldiers can only see and do so much before they become ineffective. Battle fatigue and all that, you know? Death troopers particularly, they kept our memories streamlined.”

“They took your memories?” Din can’t tell if the trooper is serious but it doesn’t look like he’s lying or trying to gain sympathy. He says it like it’s totally normal

“Not all of them, we had scheduled reconditioning every so often. Plus extra if acted up.”

Well, if true, that explained a lot, thought Din. No wonder no one seemed to desert, even after rumoured atrocities that should have had most armies imploding. 

“We were trying to remember our names when we decided to leave. I’m Corin, I think. Or Lucky, that was what my team called me. Do you have a name? Everyone calls Mandolorians Mando but that can’t be what you call each other.”

“What changed? Why could you leave now?” Din asked ignoring the question but Corin seems to accept it.

“No more calls for reconditioning!” His tone is cheerful again but a hollow look still lingers around his eyes. “Not since Endor. We thought maybe the last of the machines were destroyed. But that place on Navarro looked too similar for our liking. Only smaller.” He glances over at the door to where the child is asleep, his face turning uncharacteristically solemn.

“Din. My name is Din.” Corin smiles widely. 

“Nice to meet you Din.”


	2. Chapter 2

When they set down on Seth the trooper is practically vibrating at the door. He had removed some of the plating and weapons from his armour, combining it with normal clothing but keeping the undersuit and portions that will regulate his temperature on the cold planet. His helmet is under his arm wrapped in more material. Someone who knew what they were looking for could probably see through the disguise. But few got close up to a Death Trooper and lived to tell. They would have to rely on that.

“You should put that on. You saw the temperature reading.”

“I will, I just want to feel it on my face for a bit first.”

Din rolls his eyes behind his visor. He’s not sure if the revelation about the mindscaping used on death troopers has made him feel better or worse about this stowaway. Hijacker? Clearly he wasn’t a fanatic and his moral compass looked to be reasserting itself. But how could you rely on anyone whose mind had been rewritten so many times? Would those memories return and traumatise him? Would his programming reassert itself?

They exit the ship and Corin carefully checks the area before relaxing, giving a whoop and pretty much face planting into a snow drift.

“Snow!”

Din sighs, this job might be more trouble than it’s worth. It’s not like it pays well in the first place. The child coos enquiringly from inside Din’s makeshift hood. Corin had fashioned a headpiece for the child that should help protect its sensitive ears and it looks very cosy in its sling.

“We can introduce you to snow later kid. When we know where we can get warm again.”

When they reach the village’s inn it’s crowded and everyone seems to be having a good time. The residents’ natural curiosity and suspicion at the arrival of two tall, armoured strangers is allayed by the fact they seem to be in the middle of a festival.

Corin yanks off his helmet as they step up to the bar looking around with wide eyes.

“This place smells amazing! Can we get some food?” The child chirrups in agreement and Din sighs again. It’s as good as any way to pass the time while they wait for the contact.

“Sure. Go find us a seat.” He passes the child to Corin, who grins at him and runs a finger along one ear before hiking the child in its sling up to balance on his shoulder. Then they slip through the crowd towards a corner in the hope of finding a seat.

Din stares after them a moment before heading to the bar.

Corin is having the time of his life. He misses his team like a limb but he’s free of the Empire, for now, and on a snow planet! Good luck is in! And if it continues like this he might get to eat some of whatever smells so amazing.

“What do you think little one? See any seats?” The child coos and reaches out a clawed hand to point at a table where there are indeed a few seats empty but the rest are filled with some older looking people. They look like they are enjoying themselves but clearly have less energy for celebrating than the rest of the inn.

“Good work! Let’s go see if they mind sharing.” He stops a short distance away and gives a short bow, repressing a salute. They even have food.

“Sorry to interrupt but we seem to have arrived at a busy time. Could we share your table?”

“Are you sure you’ll fit?” One particularly wizened women asks, eyes twinkling.

“Quiet, Sellie, you’ll scare him off. Of course you can! You won’t get a seat next to someone young and pretty for love nor money tonight.” Corin laughs and folds himself onto one of the tiny chairs, placing the child on his lap.

“Is it a festival for courting then?”

“All festivals are for courting if you’re as young as some of the ones here,” says the old male.

“So, if you didn’t come for the festival, what are you here for? Sellie interrupts.

“Rude! We don’t want him running away. I’m Lidi, he’s Olu and the one without manners is Sellie.”

“Good to meet you, I’m Corin and I don’t mind. New people to talk to is a treat. We’re here for a job. Not sure what though, yet, this little one’s Dad can be stingy on the details.” He tickles the child sides as he says it the kid giggles and wriggles.

“What a lovely child!” The closest person reaches out and straightens his hat with delicate fingers. Corin tenses slightly but allows it and the child ducks behind his arm shyly but then coos and waves.

“I was wondering how he’d fare in the cold. But he seems okay so far. Might need to put a bit more work before this thing stays on straight though. It was a bit of a rush job when we saw the temperature readings.”

When he looks up the group the people are smiling. “Do you have somewhere to stay? There won’t be anything at the inns with the festival on.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.” His team had always slept on their shuttle unless they commandeered the house of an unfortunate local during longer stays. “We could go back to the ship but it’s a bit of hike.” The female on the left shakes her head.

That will never do, unless his father has other plans, you stay with us.”

“That’s really kind! I’m sure he’ll be along soon.” Corin peers over his shoulder but sees only a wall of bodies. “What is the festival about anyway?”

“It’s Midwinter, didn’t you notice all the snow?” The old male is clearly mocking him and gets a smack on the hand from Lidi.

“Well yes, but the only planet in this system I’ve been to is Hoth and I didn’t get the impression it had seasons.”

“Oh we’re not so bad off. Winter is long here but even it ends eventually.”

“Much like one of your stories.” Corin smiled at their back and forth. He couldn’t remember the last time he had sat with a group of civilians without them cowering in fear. He finally asked about the food laid out in front of them and was told almost in unison to eat as much as he liked. They might not quite have known how willing their guests would be to accept and he and the child were busily trying everything when he saw them look behind him and stiffen. He jerked round but it was only Din with a tray. The child noticed him too and reached it’s tiny hands out.

Din approached and set down the tray before giving in and taking the child from Corin, brushing crumbs off of it. Corin thought he might be able to sense an eye roll through the visor. The child cooed happily and clumsily tried to feed some of the food to Din’s helmet.

“No, not for me Womp Rat.”

Corin looked back at his companions to see they had relaxed. The child did ruin Din’s badass persona very effectively.

“Join us Mando, your child has yet to try the skir.”

“My thanks.” Din sat with his usual grace. “The bartender is bringing us something to eat.”

Olu and Sellie spoke at the same time:

“But Midwinter is for excess!

“Have both.”

Corin continued to chat to them while Mando remained quiet and appeared to give most of his attention to the child. Once things started to quiet down he said, “We should head back to the ship. There aren’t any rooms available here.”

“You can’t go taking that precious baby through the cold, Mando,” said Olu. “Come back with us, you can have the spare room.” Din looked up in surprise.

“We can’t...”

“You can and you will. It’s a lot colder outside than it was when you came in. The temperature drops fast here. We’ll take the tunnels to ours.” Din shifted uncomfortably.

“We insist,” said Sellie.

It took quite some time to get out of the inn with the three elders. Between the three of them they seemed to be grandparents, biological or otherwise, to half the settlement.

No one seemed particularly surprised to see them taking to two men with them. On the contrary the elders approval seemed to give them instant acceptance from the rest of the village.

Instead of leaving by the entrance they came in, their hosts take them to an elevator and down a level into a tunnel. Corin looks at it admiringly. Clearly this is how people get around during storms.

“You’re here for the retrieval job?” Olu asks Din.

“Yes. Do you know about it?”

“Oh yes,” says Lidi. “Everyone knows about that job. No one local will go out to that crash site anymore. Too many predators in the area. But every now and then someone will hire in an outsider to grab what they can.”

“You both be careful now. It’s rich pickings but nothing losing an arm or a leg over. Gelert will be glad of anything you bring back.” Sellie adds, smacking Corin on the arm.

“Thanks for the warning,” Corin says. He is watching Sellie closely, she doesn’t seem too steady on her feet. Older people is another new thing for him. Other than the Moffs, there were never older people around on Imperial ships. Death Troopers definitely didn’t last long enough to get old. He wonders if there were any old Mandalorians.

When they arrive inside it is a small old fashioned house, built to conserve warmth and keep off snow, with a heating unit in the centre and sharply sloping roof. There were small rooms and a refresher on the ground floor but the rest was open and there was a mezzanine over what looked to be their hosts’ bedrooms.

“You can use the upper floor,” said Olu, gesturing to a ladder. “None of us can make it up there anymore. Usually it’s just for the grandchildren.”

Corin turned to Din, “Do you want to head up and eat. I’ll stay down here until you call. You must be starved by now.” He’d seen at the inn the Mandalorian had got a takeaway portion of the stew from the barman. “Here I put some of the other bits together for you try as well.” Din took them mutely and turned rather jerkily to head on up the ladder.

Corin watched him go and allowed Lidi to come up beside him and poke him in the side playfully.

“Lucky Mando to have you looking after him so well.”

“No one should have to to go without your food, Lidi,” he said turning and smiling down at her. “It would be crime.” She grunted but was clearly happy with the compliment.

“Come. Help us get the burner banked before we head to bed.”

Din climbed the ladder with jerky steps. Part of him resented being in this house. Without the trooper travelling with him he would be back at his ship, comfortable in his bunk. Why was it with a deadly veteran in tow, he had been adopted by elders and was getting fed cake? Reaching the top of the ladder and seeing their accommodation, he was tempted to go right back down and head to the ship. There was going to be zero privacy up here. It wasn’t so much one bed as a padded area with piled blankets and cushions at each side. Plenty of space for their million grandchildren. But he was definitely going to have to sleep in his helmet. He wasn’t sure he even could sleep with Corin this close. He was still too much of an unknown quantity.

But it would be rude to refuse now and judging by the howling wind outside, the elders were right about heading back to the ship being risky. He moved as far from the open front of the mezzanine as possible and released his helmet. No one since Omera had worked out the problems being a Mandalorian presented to eating this fast. And Corin had even thought ahead enough to gather up some extra food from all the sweets on offer at the festival.

The food was very good. Not as good as Corin had seemed to find it all though. He would have thought the trooper had never tasted food before the sounds he made as he ate.

When he was finished, he called down to Corin and his head soon popped over the edge as he pulled himself up.

“The kid’s already out like a light.”

“Probably all the food”, Din took the sleeping child and settled him next to himself in the area he had set up for sleep.

“Yeah, I think he nearly ate as much as me!”

“Not possible.”

“True but wasn’t it good! I hadn’t had anything but rations in I don’t know how long. And never anything like that.” He dropped his bag and surveyed the space. “This is nice,” he smiled a little wistfully. “Veero would love it.”

“Veero?”

“One of my squad, our rookie except he’s been with us for years now. And he hates to sleep alone. Didn’t matter how many people were already in the bunk he’d crawl in anyway rather than be on his own.”

Din wondered if all Death Trooper squads were this close or is he’d just happened on a particularly codependent bunch. Would he have had relationships like that with Paz, Raga and Barthor if they had always gone on missions together? Maybe but then maybe not. He had been so very angry for such a long time. He wasn’t sure when it had started to fade.

“So what’s the job? Can I come along?”

“If you want. I’ll fill you in tomorrow.”

The trooper looked pleased and content to be put off until morning. He stripped off his outer layers and quickly bedded down, despite the design of the house it wasn’t warm enough to linger.

It wasn’t long before Din heard his breathing even out. As expected his own rest was harder to find, even with the child curled up against him in a seemingly safe house, listening to the wind howl outside.

The next night was not so peaceful. When they stumbled back in they were both wet and cold to the bone. The job had gone swimmingly, right up until the squid had broken through the ice and swarmed them. Corin’s suit had been sliced up well enough to disrupt the temperature control and a long, rough tumble down an ice slab followed by a partial dunking in the water had done the same for Din’s.

Luckily, their hosts were in bed when they finished stowing the borrowed speeder sleds. They were a sorry sight. Corin had begun talking at Din and guiding him onward as soon as his movements had started to slow.

“I’m fine!”

“You’re not and neither am I. I saw you readings on the HUD. We need to get warm and it needs to be now.”

Din knew Corin was right, he just wasn’t used to there being someone around to push him into looking after himself. And he didn’t like orders coming from an Imp.

“You should get that suit off and put something dry on.” Din whipped around and shoved the trooper hard in the chest, anger warming him temporarily.

“Stop telling me what to do. You don’t give the orders here.” Corin dropped his gaze and Din stared him down for a moment before turning away. The man wasn’t shy and didn’t cringe from authority but he never, ever showed any desire to be in charge or assert dominance. It was one of the few things making travelling with him acceptable. It was an odd change from Mandolorian society, which was often a constant competition to demonstrate strength. There were never penalties for losing or even prizes for winning. But the idea was always to build and display strength in order to protect and serve the covert the best each member could. At least that was how Din had always seen it.

“I’ll tell you when you can come up.”

Up on the mezzanine, he stripped off his armour, under armour and clothes and dug a clean set of thermals from a chest of spares. To be in warm dry clothes was amazing but his skin was still cold and clammy and his hands on feet felt like blocks of ice.

He pulled his helmet back on, wincing at the damp lining.

“Come on up.”

Corin came up the ladder noticeably slower than usual and when Din directed him to the dry thermals it took him a second to nod jerkily and head on over.

Din turned his back to give him some privacy, despite the fact Corin clearly had no qualms about semi public nudity. The shakes were starting to set in now and Din could feel his fingers and feet burning unpleasantly, as they started to warm up. He lay down on a sleeping mat and pulled some blankets over himself, trying to conceal the shakes as much as possible.

Corin headed over to him blearily, his teeth chattering and sank down far too close for comfort. “We should sleep up against each other. We’ll warm up faster.”

Din sat up. “No.”

Corin looked surprised. “Why?” Din didn’t answer, sleep like that with an enemy? Cautious ally? Potentially unstable, morally grey, beautiful man who might be able to best Din if it came to hand to hand combat?

“You don’t trust me?” At the continued silence he took that as agreement. “Okay.” Corin looked thoughtful for a second but not offended.

Then he went over to the Mandalorian’s armour and picked out the vambraces. Din jerked to his feet, swaying a little and whole body complaining. He did not want other people’s hands on his armour. But Corin just handed them to him.

“What about if you wear these? Sleep behind me. That should make sure you could restrain me easily if I tried anything.” He was a fairly pitiful potential threat standing there shivering, arms now back wrapped around himself.

Since he was holding them Din went ahead and strapped the gauntlets on. They were unpleasantly cold and a stronger shudder ran through him.  
Corin took that as agreement and lay down with his back to Din.

Sensible or not, it had been so long since Din shared this sort of contact with someone he wasn’t sure how to behave. But Corin was right about the warmth. He dropped to his knees behind Corin and curved himself around the ex trooper. When he didn’t get come any closer, Corin shuffled himself back against him firmly slotting their bodies together. Din stiffened instinctively. There were only two layers of fabric between them and feeling another’s body like that was not something he had experienced in a very long time.

Corin sighed, teeth still clacking against each other and raised his hand. “Can I have your arm?”

Din proffered it gingerly and Corin took his wrist and guided it up so that Din’s hand was resting just below his throat.

“There, you’ll have the hold if you need it.”

Well, that was weirdly practical and unbelieveably trusting. Din knew that even with all of this, a fight between the two of them could still go either way. He wasn’t sure how far the physical modifications of death troopers went, Corin definitely hadn’t had any trouble slipping the restraints he’d used back on the Razor Crest. But this did help his instinctive rejection of feeling an enemy so close. Also, he could feel them both starting to warm up. He relaxed into the position slowly and both their fits of shakes gradually came further apart. Body temperature stabilising, the strain of the job caught up fast and to his surprise Din found himself drifting off.

When he woke up he felt unbelievably warm. His arm was wrapped around something that was putting out some serious heat. Not just his arm but his whole body. Suddenly, the thing stirred and spoke.

“Veero...”

Din reacted instinctively, he pushed the person forward sliding a knee between their legs and using his body weight to hold them down as his hand came up into a chokehold.

The person gasped and struggled against him and he used more weight to pin them down, shifting himself further on top of them. They stopped fighting and merely pulled against the hold he had on their throat.

“Din..!” Suddenly the night before came flooding back.

“Corin.” That was right. He loosened his grip slightly and the man took a gasping breath. Din could feel the man’s chest expanding aagainst him and his pulse racing against his ungloved hand, now loose around his throat. He drew his hand away slowly. His own heart was thundering from the shock awakening but his mind was still groggy from sleep. Thinking about it he didn’t want Corin immediately retaliating for his admitted overreaction and hesitated to pull back.

He’d forgotten what is was like to have his bare hands on someone like this. He could feel smooth skin and stubble with tendons and muscles moving underneath. Further down he felt a scar where Corin had indicated his khyber crystal had been implanted and idly rubbed his thumb across it.

Corin gasped again. Din recollected himself and was about to ease his weight back off the man. Perhaps he’d cut off his air supply for a bit too long. Then he felt Corins hips jerk back slightly against him.

He sucked in a breath. Well that was unexpected. Suddenly the way Corin was panting and holding himself perfectly still had a different tone to it. He was frozen.

“Din?” Corin breathed. That sent a rush of heat through hi, and he backed off hurriedly before his cock could twitch against the man and give away his own interest in the situation.

His body might be interested but the rest of him really wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. And he still had some self control.

“Sorry.” Corin turned over slowly and sat up allowing the blankets to bunch in his lap in a way that was not entirely subtle.

“That’s, ah, okay.” He coughed a little. “When I first woke up I thought you were Veero. If I’d remembered I would have been more careful.”

“Still.” They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

“Are you two ever coming down?” Sellie’s creaky voice echoed up to them.

After patching and soldering the tears in his armour, Corin threw himself into helping out around the house as Din fixed his own armour in private. Lidi and Olu were happy to show him the basics of some of their cooking.

His mind kept coming back to waking up that morning. Had he ever felt that kind of desire before? None of his squad had ever really understood the interest others seemed to find in chasing after sex. They had even speculated quietly that it might be something else the Empire had tinkered with. Sexual relationships, love and children were one of the most compelling reasons to be distracted from any mission. It would explain why even in close quarters none of the squad had ever shown an interest in each other.

What would have been a perfectly normal awakening for their squad had felt like something else entirely knowing it was Din wrapped around him. Especially with that instant display of strength. The Mandolorian had acted so fast; pushing his legs apart with a knee and holding him down with his own body weight. The edge of violence wasn’t in itself erotic but the sensation of body weight, skin to skin contact and certainty in his touch was. Corin could feel a rush of warmth just thinking about it.

And he needed to stop thinking about it, the man had been quite clear in his retreat. He hadn’t been offended, he had just stopped as soon as the situation had started to change. Corin could take the unvoiced refusal. He might just have to spend a few days peeling his mind away from the memory.

“You’re wool gathering again.” Lidi was looking at him in amusement.

“Sorry! That’s all of those peeled anyway. Is there anything else I can do?”

Apparently there was a lot to do. Extensive families or not, their hosts were old enough there was always going to be things that someone tall and strong would be helpful for. Corin was glad to help, it helped repay their kindness in giving them somewhere to stay and kept his mind away from more dangerous thoughts.

Din came down some time later, once again fully armoured. It was difficult to see where any of the tears in the under armour had been. Clearly the man knew what he was doing when it came to mending his kit. He was carrying the child under one arm but settled him on the floor next to Corin and Lidi. Corin wondered how much faster the Mandalorian could have fixed his kit without the child’s helpful presence. He watched Din’s gloved hand steady the child as he found his feet and remembered with a flash what they looked like ungloved.

“I’m meeting the contact to deliver the goods.”

“Need any help?” It seems his training in not showing his feelings and reactions were still going to come in handy in civilian life.

“No, just keep an eye on him.”

“Of course.” Corin reached out to take the little one’s clawed hand as he tottered over. When he glanced up he just caught the swish of Din cape as he walked out the door and into the snow.

It was hard for Corin to imagine someone living a life like this on their own. He had always been so reliant to have his team watching his back and keeping him sane. The Mandalorian seemed to have been entirely alone before the child. Though he presumed there must be others of his kind around somewhere. Perhaps his armour and weapons were his team.

He heard a snort and turned to see Lidi watching him with an amused expression.

“What?”

“Oh nothing, just wondering how long you’d stare after him for.” Was that a giggle from the child as well? He hefted him into his lap.

“I’m glad you two are amused.”

“Life is much more worth living if you take all the laughs that are offered. Come it’s time to make lunch. I don’t need to ask if you two are hungry.”

“No ma’am!”

They spent a delightful hour making little pastry packages full of soft cheese and dried herbs. The child was thrilled to help fold them up despite not being very good at it. Then they were dipped into boiling oil and eaten while they still almost burned the mouth. Corin wanted to stay forever.

But not long after Din returned with payment and it was time to go.

“I’d love to. We’ll see where our luck takes us.” 


	3. Chapter 3

Back on the ship, before they can jump to hyper space there’s a soft sound from the dash.

“Incoming call, stay down.” Din says cautiously and Corin slides back down the ladder, the child squeaking at the motion.

But when Din accepts the call, all that can be seen is a blurred image and the sound of someone muttering.

“Wait,” Corin pops his head up, “Razor?” The holo resolves itself into an image of a man sitting in a pilot seat. 

“Lucky? Everyone, Lucky’s on comms,” he shouts behind him. There’s a muffled thumping and in a few seconds the holo glitches as multiple people tried to see at once.

“Lucky?”

“Veero!”

“Man it’s good to see you, we missed you!”

“I missed you too, all of you. Where did you end up?”

“Some desert.” Sevy smiles Corin's disgusted sound. “Thought we’d take the chance without you around to bitch and moan.”

“So the Mando hasn’t pushed you out the airlock yet. How tolerant,” says Razor.

“Of course not! I’m a delight and you know it. We’ve been in the snow!”

“Oh god, did he make a fool of himself Mando?” Sevvy butts in. “You’re a disgrace to the uniform.”

“Aren’t we all.” There’s a heavy pause and snort at that. “No second thoughts?”

“Loving every second,” Veero’s grinning face appears clearly, perched on Razor’s shoulder before being quickly shrugged off.

“Being a civilian is complicated though,” Sevvy says curling her lip. “There’s so much to think about. How’s the adorable hurricane?”

“Doing great. Whole week without anyone trying to grab him.” Corin looks at Din who has stayed perfectly still during the exchange. “New record?” The Mandalorian just grunts, clearly not thrilled.

“It’s great to see you but we shouldn’t stay on too long,” says Dubs with this usual calm. “We’ve picked up a couple of possible jobs and we’re going to be tied up for a little while. You okay or do we need to come and rescue you.”

“I’m fine!”

“I was talking to you, Mando,” says Dubs with a small smile.

“He’s fine where he is for now.” Din’s voice is clipped but Corin’s still pleasantly surprised and smiles at him. Sevvy clearly catches it and groans.

“Okay signing off now, have fun!”

The screen goes blank and suddenly the silence feels very loud to Corin. The child puts a hand on his chest with a questioning coo.

“Yeah I’m alright, little guy. Just miss them is all.” He takes a deep breath and then smiles at the child. “Come on,let’s go find something fun to do.”

Din watches them leave in silence. Corin had adapted so easily to life with him and the child it was difficult to remember he has a team who is missing him and who he misses just as much.

He sighs and tries again to focus on plotting a course to their next destination. It is true they hadn’t had any trouble on Seth but he has no doubt Gideon is still hunting them and they need to keep as well hidden as possible. On the flip side, they need to find some more work.

The best place to go from here means a few days in space and he resigns himself to more time in close proximity with Corin. The first journey hadn’t really counted. He had been recovering from a fight, very confused and uneasy to have woken up on his ship with someone else flying.

Over the coming days it turns out the trooper is surprisingly easy to share space with. He has spent a lot of time living on a shuttle and it shows. Following all the advice he keeps a strict routine, maintaining a sleep wake schedule and eating at regular intervals. He’s arguably much better at looking after himself than Din. And it probably is much better for the child.

With just the one sleeping space they have staggered their sleeping schedules, the only problem is exercise. He isn’t sure what he likes less, the idea of being watched running through the pattern dances he uses to keep his skills sharp, or the reality of watching Corin work out. 

Considerately, the man always makes sure he doesn’t anything energetic when Din is trying to sleep, which makes Din feel worse about just how much it irritates him anyway. The first time he had come down the ladder to find the man stripped to the waist and moving between press ups and side planks, he had lost count of the rungs, tried to take and extra step and slammed his foot onto the floor.

The child thinks the whole regime hilarious and won’t leave Corin him alone. The images of Corin in a plank, pretty much on eye level with the child and chattering away happily to him, was one he wouldn’t forget in a hurry. 

For multiple reasons. 

None of this is helped by the fact the sessions often occur just as Din is winding down and preparing to climb into the bunk. By the time they arrive at the next planet Din is slightly sleep deprived and very frustrated.

A visit to the local cantina to pick up a job turns out to be a waste of time. The droid running the bar advises him to come back later on in the day and he returns to the ship to find Corin once again working out. He’s shirtless, balanced on his hands in a gap between two boxes and is lifting his legs through a perfect 90 degree angle. His eyes ore on the child who is half buried inside a box of what must be harmless junk.

“Do you ever stop?” He spits out.

“Sorry. Did you need the space?” Din just grunts and starts to move past him and stalk towards the cockpit. “You know we could just exercise together. I’d love to learn some of those katas you use.” Din had deliberately been trying to make sure Corin didn’t get a chance to watch him doing that. Clearly it hadn’t worked as well as he hoped.

“No.”

“Mandalorian thing? Okay, well we could still spar.” Corin ducks in front of Din smiling. “Come on, you seem like you could use to blow off some steam.” He’s breathing slightly hard from the workout. They always seem to energise him and the rush of endorphins is obvious in those amazing eyes. 

“Yes, by working,” he really needs something to shoot.

“No joy at the bar? Even more reason to relax if we might have to wait a while.” Waiting is not a good thought and Din moves past him, done with the conversation but Corin catches his wrist. “One round?”

His thumb has slipped between Din’s glove and sleeve and he feels it on his bare skin like an electric shock. Corin moves it unconsciously, seeking more and Din takes a shocked breath and then lashes out. This isn’t something he wants to deal with right now.

He twists his wrist out of the loose hold and smacks Corin back with a hand on his chest. The man stumbles back into some crates and he ends half sitting on them, Din in his personal space. Despite asking to spar he doesn’t move to retaliate. But he is breathing harder now and his eyes flick over Din from the faceplate to where his armoured thighs are almost straddling a bent knee.

How is it every time he tried to keep his distance he ends up getting closer?

Breaking away he turns and sees the child has moved on top of another box and is chewing on his favourite metal ball, that really should be up in the cockpit attached to a very important lever.

He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly before gently picking up the child and walking off the ship. He doesn’t know where he’s going but if he has to stay here one second longer he’s going to do something he’ll regret.

“Hey, troublemaker. That looks like a familiar bucket of rust.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey, troublemaker. That looks like a familiar bucket of rust.”

The unexpected sound of Paz’s voice brings with it a familiar flash of irritation and relief. He could really use a friend to talk to right now and whether he likes to admit it or not Paz is one of his best, and very few, friends.

He turns to find him on the crowd and see that Raga is here too. What are they doing out of the Covert as a pair? Something serious must be going on.

“Paz, Raga. Get over here.”

Raga reaches him first and he grasps her forearm in welcome and impulsively leans in to briefly tap his helmet against hers. He turns to Paz next and while there is a surprised hesitation, they exchange the same greeting.

“What’s got you so friendly, are you in trouble? Your ship looks relatively intact, for once.” Paz takes a closer look at the Razor Crest and notices some of Corin’s armour hanging up. “Damn, Din, have you been tangling with death troopers? There’s no need to take trophies, I’m sure we’d believe your claims about how many you’ve taken down.”

“It’s not a trophy, it’s mine,” Corin says coming forward and leaning against the side of the ship. Like a complete fool who wants to get lynched for his former career, Din fumes quietly, as Paz and Raga level their blasters at him. Predictably, it has no effect on Corin’s cheerful expression.

“ _Why is there a death trooper on your ship?_ ” Paz has has switched to Mando’a, as has Raga.

 _“It doesn’t matter how pretty they are Din, even hate sex has limits_.” Din makes an appropriately outraged noise.

“I _am not sleeping with him_.” Well not in that sense, adds a voice in the back of his mind. Yet. “Corin. Go find some rations. I need to see why these two are here.”

“Sure thing.” He grabs a blaster and wraps his cloak around his head and neck before casually waving and striding off.

“ _Death trooper. Walking away. Why are we letting the death trooper walk out of range?”_ Paz questions mildly.

“Get in here. It kills me to say it but I need your advice.”

“Let me get this straight, a squad of death troopers trailed after you for weeks and you didn’t notice.”

“How...”

“I’m not done. So five death troopers shaking their imp mind control are tracking your every move. Then when push comes to shove, your particularly friendly death trooper saves the foundling for the third time, plus your life and invites himself on board your ship?” Din nods. Paz is silent for a moment and then shakes his head. “I can see why she lets you spend so much time out of the covert. You're a magnet for the most bizarre shit.” Raga leans toward Din.

“So there's four more defected death troopers out there?”

“Yes.”

“Are they all that pretty?”

“Raga!”

“No seriously, can I have one to be my biggest fan too?” Din stands up and tries to stalk away but Paz laughs and shoves him back down. He’s really not sure why he thought he would get anything useful from these two.

“Stay, stay. I see what you mean. That’s a hell of a situation. You owe him a debt but how can you tell if he's trustworthy?”

“Yes,” Din sighs and Raga answers, finally sounding more serious.

“No idea. Maybe time will tell? It hasn't been very long since he left the Empire. Once he adjusts, you may be able to see what way he gravitates to.”

“Not a comfortable position.” Paz leans back and adds. “Especially with the child.” Din pauses considering.

“But the child likes him. And so far it shows good judge of character.” Din hesitates; this is going to be excruciating.

“There’s something else. I think he’s interested in me.” Raga is already leaning back in her seat putting her hand over her face plate, the way you might do if you were smothering a smile. For a Mandolorian it can also conceal someone subtlety turning off the vocoder so they can laugh in peace. “He mentioned his team mocking him about his interest in me. And, erm, other things.” Paz plants his elbows on the table and seats his helmeted jaw firmly on his cupped hands in a mockery of gossipy interest.

“And are you interested in him?” He asks sweetly. Din grits his teeth.

“He’s very attractive and I appreciate what he’s done for the child.”

“Be careful with yourself then. This isn’t just an uncomfortable position, it’s vulnerable.”

Din’s quiet for a moment considering that, they haven’t told him anything he didn’t know but it’s comforting to hear nonetheless. They haven’t told him he should have put the trooper out the airlock when he first woke up, which part of him had worried they might. Debts were serious for Mandolorians but so was their history with the Empire. He takes a breath and then refocuses. “Enough of that. What brings you here?”

Concerns about Corin are swept away for a while in the face of the news about Dvarax's killer. That is until the trooper himself turns up to critique their plan. 

“Have you see the weather forecast? It was on in the inn; storms are rolling in. Can your jetpacks take it? If they can it would make good cover.”

“Hmmm,” Raga hums, “mine is old but it should be okay. Paz should carry Din though.”

“If you want a fourth I could go overland. My suit will hide me from their detectors. Blow the outer wall here,” he points on the diagram. “It would make a good distraction. Splits their attention.”

What he is suggesting has no obvious downside and all the risk will be to himself. It is strange to think that he likely has as much combat experience as they do. More when it come to fighting in groups, since Mandalorians rarely emerge from the Covert together.

“You probably won’t get paid for this,” Din warns and Corin shrugs.

“I heard the chatter about this guy in town. I have no issues with blowing him up for free. And I’m sure you have your reasons.”

“We do.”

The misson goes off without a hitch. Resistance is a little more confused than it might have been, due to the two-pronged attack. And significantly more confused when the guards realise they seem to be fighting Mandolorians and Death Troopers at the same time. Corin catches up with them just as they retake Dvarax's helmet. He waits in the doorway without interrupting and maintains an alert watch.

But before they can leave Din notices his hand straying to his chest.

“You feel something? A jetii?” Paz and Raga look around in surprise from where they are collecting some of the more portable valuable items.

“No, nothing like that.” Corin gestures Din over to the door. “Can you?”  
Din takes over and Corin walks unerringly to a small drawer in the cupboard behind the desk. He takes out a cloth bag and rubs his gloved thumb across the contents inside.

“Khyber crystals.”

“What does a Death Trooper want with those.” Paz’s voice is scornful and suspicious. Din has to admit that seeing Corin back in almost full Death Trooper armour, bared again to make use of the camouflage tech, is very unsettling. He had had to restrain a strong impulse to shoot him when he first appeared.

“Well, I’m sure they're very valuable but I thought the child might like them.” He tilts his helmet in Din’s direction and Din can hear the amusement in his voice when he says, “Maybe he’ll stop trying to vibrate mine out of my chest.”

The Mandalorians share a look and Din is eternally grateful they chose this moment to show up. How is he meant to make a balanced judgement about a man who stands there perfectly at home in his Death Trooper uniform, collecting presents for Din’s foundling.

”It’s not the only thing in here.” He gestures Paz over and moves back to the door to replace Din.

“Beskar,” Paz breathes, “not a lot but some!”

Paz and Raga wrap up their finds and they move out again. The hallways are littered with debris and fallen guards and they have to pick their way. Paz is in the lead and Corin brings up the rear again. The entrance of the compound is narrow, in an obvious attempt to make sure any attackers would be funnelled into a small kill zone. Paz had cheerfully countered this by coming through the wall.

The bodies in the hall are still and Raga kicks an arm out of her way as she goes. They are nearly out when Din hears a shout and a shot directly behind him. He whirls around but has to pull his blaster up sharply when he is met by a tableau of Corin on his knees directly behind Din and facing back. One of the guards must have had a shot’s worth of fight left in him and Corin had put himself between the shooter and Din’s less armoured back. His blaster is still smoking as is his right pauldron.

After a moment, he climbs to his feet and turns to face the Mandolorians. He taps his helmet.

“HUD still comes in handy. Life signs are all gone now.” Din is speechless for a moment. How many times is this trooper. Corin, he corrects himself. Going to put himself on the line for Din?

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Din hears Paz grunt up front and start walking again.

“ _Fine, troublemaker. You can keep him.”_

Raga clasps his shoulder. _“I wish you many happy years of making trouble together.”_


	5. Chapter 5

Later, Corin catches the somber mood of the Mandalorians as they mourn their teacher and he makes himself scarce.

“Looks like it’s just you and me tonight Green Bean. Let’s go find something new to eat!” They wander back to the Razor Crest together through a night market, sampling things as they go. He finds the child will eat anything with tentacles, alive or dead, and seems to love a glutinous texture. Colin is more a fan of crispy fried and definitely dead snacks. But they are agreement on a bowl of savoury noodles filled with some kind of eggs. They also stock up for the next bit of space travel. Din is far too content with rations for their preferences but they get some of the tea he’s fond of.

By the time they get back to the ship, they are both sleepy and quickly make it into the bunk. Of course, as soon as they get there the child seems wide awake again and Corin rides out the last wave of energy by reading to him from the document he had been studying on his data pad. It’s all star charts and descriptions of planets but that doesn’t seem to really matter and it isn’t long before the child has drifted off. Corin is reluctant to shift him into his hammock, his claws are firmly latched onto Corin’s shirt and besides, the child is warm. Feeling it breath against him is so very relaxing and even if he does fall asleep it’s not like there’s enough room in the bunk to risk rolling over and crushing him.

In what feels like no time at all, Corin jerks awake to find Din standing over him. His posture is looser than usual and when he steps forward Corin gets a whiff of the Mandalorian wine they had been opening up when he left.

“Din. Sorry, I’ll move out.”

“Wait.” Moving slowly and very carefully Din picks the child up from it’s place between Corin’s arm and chest and places him into his hammock, speaking softly to him in Mando’a when he fusses.But when Corin starts to shift out he puts a hand on his arm and speaks again.

“Sorry, I, I’m going to need that in Basic.” Din’s hand is still on his arm and Corin is split between wanting to know what he said and wanting to hear more of Din talking to him in that beautiful language, as if he was one of the trusted few Mandalorian comrades in Din’s life.

“Stay. There’s enough space.” When he doesn’t say anything Din pulls his hand away and steps back.

“No! I mean yes, there is. If you’re okay with that.”

“Shift over.”

Corin does, unsure what has prompted this change. Was it deflecting that shot today? But that was just what you did for your squad during a firefight. And he knew his armour could take it. He had weighed up a small chance of injury to himself from catching a shot in the armoured chest, against paralysis or death for Din from a shot in the unamoured back. No choice at all. Although, he realised it wouldn’t have mattered if the risk to himself had been greater, he wouldn’t let Din die and have the child lose it’s protector and father. He just wouldn’t.

Din is slowly removing his boots and amour. Corin turns on his side so he won’t get caught up in watching small pieces of skin being revealed as Din tugs off his cape. It isn’t long before he feels the man’s weight on the sleeping pad behind him. He doesn’t slot his body’s against Corin’s the way they had when they were close to hypothermia but he isn’t shy either and throws his arm over Corin’s waist. He feels the smooth, cool curve of a helmet against the back of his neck and breaths in shakily. But the Mandalorian just sighs and before long his breathing becomes steady. Listening to that Corin’s thoughts gradually stop racing and he too drifts off.

Din wakes with a pounding headache. Corin is gone and he takes a moment to lie back and think about the night before. He’d had a good amount to drink but he’d known exactly what he was doing. Including what he’d done with his share of the beskar before he made it back to the ship.

Outside the bunk he can hear the muffled sounds of Corin getting ready for the day. He climbs out of the bunk and takes a moment to lean against the wall as his head and stomach quietly rebel.

Through the gap to the common area he can see the child seated on the table, watching Corin as he prepares some of the food the two of them had clearly picked up. Din doesn’t really understand their fascination, food isn’t a big part of Mandalorian culture, since it can’t be a part of social activities. He thinks of food only as fuel but his new companions find endless entertainment in it. The little Womp Rat often seems to be trying things for the first time and Corin is much the same. Maybe the Empire didn’t offer many opportunities to try anything other than rations.

He heads into the refresher and releases his helmet, staring at his face in the mirror. He looks tired and his face is creased and eyes bloodshot from sleeping in the helmet. It would be really nice not to have to do that. Once he has freshened up he heads back to the common room to find that Corin has laid the bag containing the khyber crystals in front of the child with a smile.

“Go on, little bean.” The child reaches towards them wide eyed but snatches his hand back at the last moment looking up at the man. “It’s okay, they’re for you.” He taps his chest. “I’ve got all I need here.”

The child stretches for the bag again and pulls it open but doesn’t reach in. Instead the crystals come to him, glowing as they hover. His ears rise to point at the ceiling and he releases a happy gurgle, as pleased as Din has ever seen him.

“Here,” says Corin, “we can use this as a belt for you so you can keep them with you.” He pulls the drawstring loose and ties the ends gently around the child’s waist so it hangs like an apron that is all pocket. The stones, still hovering, wobble as the child is distracted by his new fashion and then steady and slide down into their new home.

“Nice work, kid,” says Din gruffly from the doorway. Corin’s head jerks around, he had clearly been totally focused on the child, to the exclusion of all his training and enhanced reflexes.

Any worries Din had about whether to give his own gift are laid to rest by what he’s just seen and the wide smile Corin sends his way.

He heads back to the bunk and pulls out the pauldron he had forged last night, turning it over in his hands and trying to stop them shaking. Corin is fiercely loyal, has risked his life for Din and far more than that for Din’s foundling. He is a warrior but one entirely without malice. Din and Paz are too quick to anger. Even Raga still shows a frustration and desperation prove herself left over from how she had been treated as child. Din is lucky his rage was always directed at droids, with no families or lives to consider, against the satisfaction of avenging his parents over and over again. He’s not sure how much more he would have to regret were that not the case.

But not Corin. So much has been stolen from him but he looks on every experience as a gift, rather than nursing fantasies of revenge.

The level of emotion Din already feels for him is terrifying. He's keenly aware that Corin has a family in his squad and so many lives he could lead now he has left the Empire. Din cannot be a coward about this, not if he wants Corin stay, to choose them. And selfishly he wants to lay a claim on him. To see him in armour Din has given him.

He stands taking a deep breath before heading back into the common room. Now he just has to get the words out.

“I have a gift for you too.” He offers the pauldron to Corin and ignores the racing of his heart. “If you’ll accept it.”

Corin’s face is pleased and a little confused as he takes it.

“Thanks, a pauldron? To replace the one that got fried yesterday?” He pauses, feeling the weight and tipping it towards the light. “Wait, this is beskar.”

“Yes.”

“Why? I mean, are you sure? I didn’t think Mandalorians ever gave away beskar.”

“Not often. And never lightly.” Din can’t bring himself to say more. “Do you accept.” He knows he sounds abrupt and Corin looks back at him a slight frown on his face.

“Yes, I love it and I’m honoured. But.” He pauses and Din has never been so tense.

“What?” He grates out.

“If you ever want it back, please just say.” Din’s shoulders drop and his nerves jangle with unused adrenaline.

“I can live with that.”


	6. Chapter 6

Corin takes has some time to himself once Din disappears off into the cockpit. He and the child set themselves up on the ramp to enjoy the cool afternoon sun that has emerged after the storms.

The kid is playing with his favourite metal ball, seemingly aware that showing the khyber crystals in public is a bad idea. Corin has dragged out his armour and is cleaning off the dirt from yesterday’s raid. He’s moved on to trying to figure out how to attach his new pauldron when he sees Paz and Raga walking over. He wonders if stalking would be more accurate? Clearly all Mandalorians walk like they could take your ship and your lover without breaking a sweat. Paz and Raga have more swagger though, Din is all cool confidence.

When they get closer, Paz lets out a low whistle.

“Dank farrik, look at that.” He laughs. “I look forward to the fights when people find out.”

“I’m glad he had the balls.” Raga adds with a smile in her voice.

“What do you mean? Should he not have given this to me?” They both stare at him for a long moment.

“Seriously?” Raga is clearly rolling her eyes behind that visor. “So he gave you the armour but he didn’t say what giving it means?” Corin shifts uncomfortably.

“He said it isn’t given often and never lightly.” Raga cocks her head.

“That’s true enough.”

“We don’t give it often,” adds Paz. “Wedding presents, coming of age, and declaring our intentions.” The last part is said teasingly. Raga huffs a breath and tosses herself gracefully down beside Corin on the ramp.

“He’s saying he’s interested in you. In his own emotionally stunted way. And we’re only interested when we’re seriously interested.” Corin is stunned and almost drops the pauldron, over compensating by gripped it so hard his fingertips turn white. Din has barely shown an interest in him before last night. But he guesses it makes sense, Din isn’t a man who believes in half measures, if he does something he does it with his whole heart.

“Think about it Corin,” says Paz seriously. “Relationships outside the covert are rare for a reason.”

“And if you mislead him, hurt him, we will kill you.” She throws and arm around and hugs him to her, despite being significantly smaller. The gesture is surprisingly friendly given the words but hard enough to show the strength beneath.

Paz walks over as well to stand beside the ramp where he can put a massive hand on Corin’s shoulder.

“He is our brother, idiot or not. Tell him we will support him when he talks to her.” Raga jumps up.

“And to come visit the covert.” She crouches down to put her helmet close to the child who has been watching the exchange with narrow eyes, probably sensing all the heightened emotions. “Bring this little one, we both want to see him again.”

“We will.” Corin coughs, just now starting to unfreeze. “I’m glad he has you, by the way.” Paz inclines his head towards Raga, pulling her off the last of the ramp and into something between a hug and a headlock. It reminds Corin of messing about with his squad when they were in armour.

“Oh hey, just imagine Din getting this talk from a bunch of death troopers.” Paz roars with laughter and they wave their goodbyes.

Corin is quiet for a long time when they leave. He hesitates before he finishes connecting the pauldron to his armour but decides to go ahead. He has a lot to think about but his heart clenches at the thought of Din seeing him without it and thinking he’d been rejected.

It’s a very beautiful piece and he has never owned anything like it. Everything he has he stole from the Empire, including himself. But not this. It feels like the promise of something new. And it is. If he wants it.

The next week goes by quickly, they pick up a job before they leave and have to race to the next system to locate a bounty and drag them back before they run any farther. It’s not a species that can be put in carbonite so their comfortable balance in the Razor Crest is disrupted in a way they all hate. By the time they return they are all stressed out and in need of a break. They go to a cantina that night, ostensibly to look for work but none of them are really ready to find anything.

“No, I haven’t heard of anything your kind might be interested in,” the server says putting down some cups. “What a lovely child! He reminds me of those creatures in the forests over westwards.” Din and Corin both start violently.

“You’ve seen people like him?” Din asks his voice half hope, half fear.

“Oh no, not sentients. Just some of the local wildlife, they’re smaller than him and they have tails.” Din collapses back in his chair mind whirling. “You should go check it out though, the lakes are beautiful and I bet he’d like the swimming.”

They decide they may as well follow the server’s advice, they are both curious to see the creatures spoken about even if it’s just convergent evolution. It only takes them a few minutes to fly inland and they find a place for the Razor Crest on a rocky outcrop. It’s too late explore now so they head to bed. It’s the first time that they haven’t been sleeping in shifts since before they picked up the bounty.

Ever wary, Din engages the outer defenses while Corin tucks the child into his hammock. His eyes are already dropping closed after the excitement of the past few days. Corin runs a finger along the edge of an ear and his heart melts as the child lets out a sleepy coo and wiggles deeper into his blankets.

“You sure you didn’t get training in child care?” Din’s voice is amused and relaxed as he appears behind them and starts stripping off armour. Corin laughs.

“Pretty sure. Can’t imagine a situation where it would have been useful, even with all those assignments that were just Moff’s babysitting.” He laughs. “It does make me wonder though, what it would be like to meet one of my fifty kids.” He notices Din has paused with one greave half unbuckled. “Sorry, it was a running joke with my squad that me and Sevy probably had fifty kids running around somewhere.”

“What?” Din does not sound amused, confused maybe.

“Oh, we didn’t have any proof but we were both in training at the same time as Project Harvester, so it’s likely our genetic samples got combined somewhere along the line.” Slowly Din goes back to what he was doing.

“Does that...bother you?” Corin shrugs, it’s not something he thinks about.

“Not really, any children would have gone to good families. Mainly I just feel sorry for anyone who had to deal with a combination of me and Sevy,” he smiles. “Dubs certainly had enough issues keeping us busy.”

He’s slightly nervous about sharing a bed again now that he knows Din is interested in him. It’s just not something he’s done before. Din clearly isn’t questioning it though, so Corin strips off his outer layers and climbs in, pulling one of the blankets over himself. He faces the wall like he has before and listens to Din climb in next to him, checking on the child as he goes, who is clearly fast asleep. He’s quiet for a time and Corin would have started to drift off if he wasn’t currently so hyper aware of the other man. He gasps when he feels a bare hand on his arm.

“I’m sorry. That you had so many choices taken away from you.”

“Thanks.” Corin stutters out. “But I can’t complain about where it’s brought me.” He can’t roll over, if he does he’s going to see exactly what he could have, maybe. And he wants it desperately but Din feels like a whirlpool or a black hole. Like throwing himself off a ship in flight with a smile on his face. Once he takes that leap he has no confidence he won’t lose himself completely, and he’s been someone else’s for so long.

Din makes a slightly strangled sound.

“I’m glad.”

Neither of them fall asleep quickly that night.


	7. Chapter 7

When Din wakes the next day Corin is still asleep. He takes a moment to look at the man’s face while it’s relaxed and still. He’s been aware of a certain amount of tension and he suspects it has something to do with his gift and everything to do with interfering friends. He’s not angry at Paz and Raga, Corin deserves to make an informed choice and he’s glad he had the chance to meet other Mandalorians before he did. Even if it was those two numbskulls. But he does wonder exactly how much they told him.

He feels a thump against his legs and looks down. The child is pushing himself back upright and toddling up the bed rubbing his eyes.

“Come on you. Let’s let him sleep for a while longer.”

“No need, he’s awake.” Corin yawns widely and presses his hands against the back of the bunk in what he can manage of a stretch in the confined space. It makes the muscles in his arms stand out sharply and as he pushes, the bottom of his shirt catches against the bed and rides up exposing hipbones and a light dusting of dark hair.

Din’s mouth goes very dry and he swallows, jerking his head away and sliding out of the bunk despite his words.

The rest of the day is equally idyllic. They eat some of the fresh supplies and head down to the nearby lake. They’d seen more developed options as they’d flown over the forest and pools but headed for something further out with no tracks leading to it. They would likely have it to themselves. This area of the planet is covered in thick jungle and they wear their armour and wrap up the child for the trip down, not knowing what type of local flora or fauna they might run into.

It turns out the lakes are actually cenotes, where the surface has fallen away to reveal pieces of underground river systems. They are stunningly beautiful. Corin only has to see it through the trees before he is tripping over his feet and stripping off his armour, ready to jump in.

“Look at that! Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous?”

“That wasn’t covered in snow?” Din says dryly and Corin shoots him a grin.

“Can you check it for me? Temperature and life signs?” He looks up from where he is hurriedly pulling off his boots. “Does your HUD do that?” Din doesn’t answer but he is smiling behind his helmet as he does as requested.

“Temperature is fine but variable and no large life forms.”

“Sweet.” They’ve arrived at the edge and Corin piles his clothes and armour at the base of a tree. He pulls off the last couple of pieces except his underwear and walks over to Din, who desperately tries to keep his eyes focused on the man’s face. Why exactly did he think this was a good idea? It takes him far too long to realise Corin is focused on the child. 

“Come here, little bean, time to get your feet wet.” The child doesn’t need any encouragement once he takes a look at the water. His ears rise and he reaches out towards it.

The two of them spend the next hour in and out of the shallows. There’s a sharp drop off and Corin keeps a close eye on him. He seems keen on the water but has no innate ability to swim. Unsurprisingly, it takes no time at all for him to find something to eat and shoves it into his mouth whole and wriggling. Corin and Din both make an aborted lunge for him and sigh when it is clearly too late. They look at each other and smile.

Din is not planning to get in the water. It is too open here for him to be comfortable removing that much armour. And while beskar is light as metals go, it’s still not exactly a good option for swimming. He settles for keeping a watchful eye on the forest and dutifully inspects all the interesting things his foundling brings to show him.

All that energy finally dies out and he climbs into Din’s lap to nap. Corin stands on a tree root dripping with water and smiling at them.

“Mind if I take a longer dip?”

“Go for it.” Din himself is pretty relaxed by now. Corin lets out a whoop and dives inexpertly into the pool. It takes a while for him to come up but Din is aware his breathing capacity is likely augmented and doesn’t worry too much. When he does it is farther out into the pool and a couple of minutes later, over on the other side. There the bank is more of a cliff, standard for these cenotes and Corin climbs up the overhanging root system, lifting his body weight with ease. It weighed on Din’s mind a lot when he first arrived on board that Corin was augmented, not because he is some sort of organic purist but because of the way it increased the potential threat the man posed to Din and the child. Now he can admire the effects more comfortably and has a greater understanding of the personal cost.

When he reaches the top he backflips off with a whoop that startles the child slightly.

“Don’t fuss. It’s just our beautiful idiot.” The child coos and settles back down, while Din feels a shock at hearing himself say that out loud.

The amount of time Corin spends throwing himself off things and diving down deep makes Din feel old. He would feel tired as well but he’s far too relaxed. It’s good to have a day with nothing to do. His conscience pricks him that they have things they should be doing but he quiets it easily enough. This sort of side trip makes them much harder to trace. 

When Corin finally returns he is panting and deliriously happy.

“This is amazing, you should see what’s down there! It’s so blue and there are plants trailing down into the caves! And the fish!” He stops babbling and grins, flopping down next to them. 

The child wakes at his arrival and yawns, getting up and slowly climbing off Din. Corin watches as he moves away from them and sits, taking out his crystals to examine. 

“You’re not planning on coming in?” 

“No. It’s nice enough out here.” Corin smiles at his sleepy tone.

“I wonder if I could accidentally trip you in,” he’s clearly teasing.

“Maybe. If you put the armour back on.”

“I could do it without the armour.” He prods Din’s armoured shin with a damp foot. “If I had the element of surprise.”

“Which you’ve given away,” Din retorts.

“True. I am curious though. I reconstructed quite a few of your fights before I ever met you. They were pretty impressive.” Din thinks for a moment. 

“Put your armour back on and we can spar.”

“Really?” Corin is way too excited, but as someone brought up in the fighting corps Din can relate. The chance to fight against someone whose style you respected but didn’t yet understand was always rare. Too often you only got to spar against a few and it became repetitive. Din and Paz had beaten each other into the ground so many times it had become slightly ridiculous.

“What are you waiting for?” Corin scrambles up and Din heads over to the child to explain; he doesn’t want a repeat of the episode with Cara and this will look much worse. The little Womp Rat has taken his crystals to a flat rock and very carefully laid them in a circle.

“Hey kid, listen to me for a second.” He looks up, comically annoyed at being disturbed and Din has to smother a chuckle. “Corin and I are going to practice our fighting skills, okay? That’s all it is, just practice. Don’t try and come to my rescue.” The child just waves a hand at him dismissively and moves a crystal a fraction to the left. Din will just have to hope the message got through.

Din takes a few minutes to stretch out. He’s spent the last few hours lazing around after all. Corin does the same, despite not really needing to. He keeps casting pleased and excited glances at Din. 

When they start, Din finds Corin’s style to be typical of the Empire, just better. It’s pretty brutal with little appreciation for the beauty of combat, although Corin’s obvious enjoyment makes up for a lot. He relies heavily on his height, weight and energy.

They’re pulling their punches, feeling each other out. Din can’t help meeting Corin’s grin with a smile of his own, it has been a long time since he had the opportunity to do something like this purely for the joy of it.

When Corin pushes close Din aims a spinning kick at his head, gracefully pivoting and immediately following it with another to take advantage of his opponent’s surprise. He rarely fights hand to hand, it is reserved for sparring or desperate last stands. Today there is an added thrill of getting much closer to Corin than he would usually allow himself. He can feel taut muscle under his gloved hands and smell the other man’s sweat under the scents of the forest and drying water, now almost steaming off damp skin and cloth.

The fight speeds up and slows again as they go on. Din knows he won’t have the advantage of stamina. He has reserves of sheer determination and a willingness to fight until the very last from his Creed and training but this isn’t what today is about. There’s no need to exhaust himself against a younger, augmented fighter.

Din has Corin beat on balance, skill and experience but as they start to grapple more it is clear that he is outmatched when it comes to wrestling holds. Especially since they allow the ex-trooper to use his enhanced joints.

With Din starting to get tired, Corin gets a lucky strike and swipes his legs out from him, following him to the ground. As they grapple for an advantage, Din finds himself in a chokehold with Corin pressed up against his back. They both pause for a second, panting and he wonders if he is the only one suddenly remembering the morning they woke up like this on Seth. Corin’s grip certainly falters and Din strikes, grasping the other man’s elbow and wrist, jerking the arm away from his throat. Corin tries to pin Din’s legs with his own but he slithers his hips away until he can turn into him and use his grip on his wrists to press him back into the earth.

Corin is breathing hard and grinning underneath him and declines to struggle any further.

“Told you that would be fun.”

Din laughs.

“You’re very happy for someone on their back in the dirt.” Corin flushes and Din chokes as he thinks over that again. Suddenly the position feels rather different. But he doesn’t pull away, why should he? Unless Corin complains.

On the contrary, Corin’s eyes are dark and his breathing is shallow. He shifts slightly under Din, gasps a breath and then moves his hips more deliberately. 

“Corin,” his voice comes out rough. 

“Yes?” When there’s no answer he rolls his hips up again and Din groans. Corin shifts the wrist in Din’s grip in a request and Din immediately lets go. With it free, he brings his up to lay against the side of Din’s helmet. His thumb strokes along the groove along the cheek.

“I have a question,” his voice is low and rough, eyes wide. “How do Mandalorians express interest without a kiss?” His heart leaps despite the clear intent in Corin’s actions so far. When he doesn’t answer, Corin drops his hand to the small of his back pressing gently as he rolls his hips up again. Din’s control vanishes and he drops his head rolling his own hips in time with Corin. He can feel the erection pressed against him and his own dick twitches in response.

Just a few seconds later he recalls himself and jerks back, moving to sit on his heels.

“The kid.” Corin’s eyes widen comically and they both jerk their heads around to look for the child.

But it seems there is no need to worry. The child is sitting with his eyes closed and the crystals are levitating around him in a perfect circle. As they look longer Din sees little flickers of light just barely forming a dome around him.

“Huh.” Corin says before looking at Din and cringing slightly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push.” Din cocks his head, he doesn’t like that look on Corin and even less if he’s the cause.

“You weren’t.” He reaches out and pulls the other man up to sitting. “And we do kiss.” He moves slowly towards Corin and presses his helmet against the damp hair lying across Corin’s forehead.

When he pulls back Corin is looking at him wide eyed, then a grin breaks over his face like the sun rising. He reaches out to the back of Din’s neck, fingers instinctively finding the gap between helmet and collar to reach the sweaty skin beneath. He strokes at the stubble over Din’s jugular with a thumb, before pulling him into another ‘kiss’.

“Permission to do this a lot more?”

“I think that would be okay.”

On their way back to the Razor Crest they finally see the creatures they heard about. Emerging at dusk they truthfully bear only a passing resemblance to the child but Din will forever be happy that a passing comment from a stranger led them to this day.


	8. Chapter 8

When he’s eaten, Corin heads into the cockpit with the child to give Din some space to remove his helmet. He settles back into the chair and wishes desperately he felt more sure about what he was doing. The child clumsily climbs his chest and pats at his face, making a questioning noise.

“I know little bean. I’m all over the place.” The child grunts and points to the console. “What? What are pointing at?” Corin concentrates, “the holo?” He suddenly realises what the child is advising and laughs. “Really? It’ll be like Paz and Raga all over again.”

But maybe it’s a good idea. After all, it wasn’t until after Din had seen his friends that he had seemed to figure things out and relaxed around Corin. He opens a call, sits back and in no time at all he is looking at Dubs’ calm face.

“Hey, Lucky. Everything okay?”

“All good, we’ve had a rest day.” Corin can hear Sevy in the background getting closer.

“Good plan,” he turns his head, “yes, it’s him.” Dubs turns back again. “We’ve got company, this job is being run by a twi’lek and a Hutt.”

“And would you believe it, the twi’lek is in charge,” says Sevy leaning down to smile at him and the child. For a second, the holo manages to pick up a hint of her unearthly eyes, making the grin look feral.

“Sevy has made a new friend.” Dubs sounds amused. “Be glad you’re not here.”

“And how is life with the Mando treating Lucky?”

“They’re having a rest day, you should consider trying it once in a while.”

“I’ll bet they are. Have you tired him out Corin?” Her voice implies some very filthy things and his mind flashes back to lying beneath Din and hearing him groan. He colours and Sevy zeroes in on it like she has an inbuilt laser sight. The whole story comes tumbling out and Dubs leaves after about thirty seconds, covering his ears and claiming to be too old for this. But Sevy just leans closer to the projector.

“You’ve fallen for him right back, haven’t you? You’re so predictable.”

“Hey! But yes, like a kriffin’ shuttle crash.” He drags his hand over his face, holding the kid close against him as he chirrups in seeming sympathy. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“I’m really not seeing the issue here, you like him he likes you. What about if you were just his friend and that child’s favourite uncle? Would that satisfy you?”

“No. Not really. I want more.”

“I know it feels fast, Lucky, but maybe it’s just right. You were born on opposite sides but you’re both soldiers of a kind. And now the Empire wants both your heads. People like you don’t have time to waste.” 

“I know.”

“Staying with him is certainly the most dangerous option.” She sprawls back in the pilot’s seat and smiles slyly, “maybe we should build a quiet life somewhere instead, become farmers.” An image of him and Sevy on a farm pops into his head and he chokes on a laugh. 

“Not our style, Sevy.”

“Maybe not.”

“I like fighting you know that. And fighting against Moffs for once sounds fun.”

“Well don't you dare leave us out.”

To talk it out with Sevy makes him feel immeasurably better. He’s been plunged into life without them and he’s doing okay but not long ago he made every decision as part of a team. He misses relying on them to balance him.

When he stops smiling into the space where Sevy’s image had hung, he finds the kid is fast asleep in his lap. He goes down the ladder with one hand cradling the little guy close to him, before tucking him into his hammock in the bunk.

Outside, he can see the glow of a fire and, as he moves closer, the shape of Din sitting with his back to the ship.

“He’s asleep.”

“How are your squad.” Corin smiles involuntarily and wanders over to lean against the Razor Crest’s dented, dusty landing gear.

“They’re good. Making friends, getting into trouble.” He hears Din snort, still facing away from him. “I know, must be quite a sight.”

“Do you plan to go back to them?” Corin’s heart jumps, he is so not ready to answer that question. Din is still facing away from him, shoulders tense and staring into the fire. He wants to go over to him, touch him again, kiss him.

“Do you want me to?” His voice comes out sounding breathless. He wasn’t sure they’d talk about what happened earlier, but maybe they’ve reached terminal velocity in their fall towards each other. No hiding from it now.

“You know what I want.”

Corin walks over to him on unsteady legs. Din doesn’t move much, forearms still resting on his thighs but he tilts his head up, letting Corin tower over him. It’s a vulnerable position and Corin can’t stand the show of trust. He drops to his knees.

“This is all really new to me, I don’t know much about Mandalorian culture.” Din nods and draws back as if he knows where this is going.

“Wait. I don’t know if I can follow your way. But...I can follow you.” He can hear his own naked honesty in those words and he laughs. “I already have haven’t I? I’ve been following you around pretty much since I first saw you.” Din has frozen and Corin leans forward, laying his hands on the Beskar covered thighs. “You and your boy, I would follow you to hell and back.”

“Corin.” The other man’s voice comes in a broken whisper even through the vocoder. He can see firelight flickering over the visor as he stares desperately up at him. Then he feels a hand come up to cup the side of his face. “Ner kar’ta.” Corin lets out a keening breath and lurches up to press his forehead against the cool helmet, eyes squeezed shut against the wave of emotion.

Moments later, Din pulls him closer, dragging him between his legs into tight hug. Corin buries his face into the gap between the helmet and pauldron. It’s such a relief to finally get to touch the way he wants and he is desperate for more.

“Can I...”

“Yes.” Din doesn’t even ask what it is he wants and that only spurs him on. He yanks at the cloak behind Din’s back to pull it out from the armour and presses his mouth the the exposed skin. Din sucks in air and moans, tipping his head to the side. The hand not on the back of Corin’s head is rucking up his shirt, glove rough on his bared skin. 

Corin trails kisses down the column of his throat and then bites gently down on the muscle, before running his tongue over it. Din growls and pushes him sharply away, sprawling into his back. He almost apologises but then sees Din move above him stripping off his gloves.

He pushes himself away so he is lying back alongside the small fire. His brain is fogged with lust and elation. Din bends over him on his knees straddling one of Corin’s legs.

“Take you shirt off?” It’s a question but his voice is low and determined. Corin can’t remove it fast enough and his cock throbs as he sees Din’s gaze dip, presumably following the flex of his abs and down to his belt.

“Come here.” He reaches out to Din, desperate to feel him against him once more. Today in the forest had been heavenly and his body remembers every second of watching Din start to give in and grind down against him.

Din falls forward to press another kiss against him as he runs a bare hand down Corin’s throat and over his naked torso, taking his time to explore. All too soon, he pulls away again and sits back on his heels so he can reach to run his hand further down over the stark outline of Corin’s erection. He can’t help but moan, throwing his head back slightly and arching his back.

“So beautiful.” Din says grasping as much as he can through the thick material and starting to rub in a slow rhythm. Corin revels in it for a moment and then pulls himself together enough to reach down and yank at Din’s other wrist, pulling him forward and off balance so he has to reach out a hand to brace himself full length over Corin, hips finally falling into place. Corin rolls his hips up and finally gets Din to moan again reciprocating.

Then he growls in frustration and pulls back, kneeling up. He unfastens his tac belt and reaches for the clasps on his breast plate and pulls it off as quickly as possible.

Sad as he is to have Din further away the sight of him hurriedly stripping his armour off is desperately arousing. Straps undone, Din takes half a second to lay the plates tidily to the side. Corin takes the opportunity to reach up and run his hands over the newly exposed torso, still clothed but it is now so much easier to feel the man beneath. Plus he can yank the shirt out of Din’s belt and reach skin. He runs his fingertips up the taught muscles, feeling his way as Din gasps above him. A hand on his shoulder pushes him back down and he pulls the now lighter, warmer body back onto himself gladly. He buries his face into Din’s neck while their legs tangle together and his hand grasps the other man’s ass encouraging him to grind down.

They fall into a rhythm together and it’s clear they have both wanted this for too long for it to last. In no time at all Din is pulling away so they can both rip away the remaining layers between them. Corin brain stalls for a moment as he sees Din drag open his own fly and pull out his cock. He’s struck by a desperate need to get his mouth on that. Next time. 

They’re both already dripping and the slick drag as Din pushes them together in his fist is amazing. Corin can hear himself moaning at an embarrassing volume as he throws his head back in the sandy earth, one hand braced against a cool pauldron, thumb resting against the rough slight suit underneath.He’s babbling incoherent pleas and squirming against the ground, racing toward an orgasm. His gaze keep flitting between Din’s visor and the vision of them moving against each other further down.

Above him, he sees Din throw his head back as he starts to come and the sight tips him over the edge as well. His vision goes white with the force of it and he feels both their come splatter into his chest.

Din rolls off to the side movements stiff and jerky with exhaustion. Corin’s hand automatically finds Din’s and their finger entwine as they lay together panting. 

A few minutes later Corin has come down enough to look down at himself and laugh. 

“What a mess.” He uses his discarded shirt to clean himself off and they both make themselves slightly more presentable.

Din props himself up against the piece of cargo he had been sitting on before. He’s only missing his cloak and breast plate but for him that might as well be naked. Corin considers exactly how difficult intimacy is for someone who almost never removes their armour and wonders how long it is since Din has done anything like this.

“No regrets?” He’s pretty sure he knows the answer and is smiling as he asks.

Din reaches out a hand to him and drags him over. He collapses between the other man’s legs, pressing his back to the unarmored front. “Didn’t think so.”

He laces Din’s fingers with his own where they rest against his stomach. 

“I really don’t know how to do this, you know. Relationships are actively discouraged for death troopers.”

“I'm not claiming to be an expert.” Corin feels Din rest what, he realises with a jerk, must be his chin on top of his head. “We’ll figure it out.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I tend to post and then reproof read because apparently I just can’t see the problems until I look at it on here. So particular apologies to anyone who reads this in the first few days it goes up.


End file.
